Customer Reviews of (HP SMB Systems VM633A8#ABA)

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Cons-middling accuracy-broken video scaler-USB hub does not work when monitor is off-HP quality control seems lacking

SummaryProceed with caution. I got this monitor with the 0DP coverage, as this was my first LCD monitor and I wanted to be safe. I should also note I'm using a hardware colour calibrator.

The first unit I received had two dead subpixels, so NCIX promptly cross-shipped a replacement (and charged me the price of the monitor, until the return was received). The replacement was DOA: it would turn on for ~5 seconds, then turn off. No backlight, no image. So I sent it back, and they shipped another. The next one had no dead pixels, but had a lot of backlight bleeding as well as small bits of contamination/garbage in the screen as are described in HP's LCD warranty policy. This one was also returned. One more was sent out, and while there were no dead pixels and no stuff in the screen, the backlight bleed was even worse than the previous one. I ran several colour calibrations on all three working units, and was disappointed to see the last two monitors' contrast was only about 500:1. The first monitor I received was about 800:1 (which is still a far cry from the 1000:1 spec HP advertises). As such, I asked if I could keep the first monitor, even though it had the dead subpixels. So the last unit was returned and I waited to be refunded for the cross-shipping, but nothing happened for about a month. At this point I inquired as to the status, and was simply told it was pending. Another month went by, and still nothing. I emailed support again, and was told that they could not see the backlight issue - but as it had taken so long, they would refund me. So while the story ended happily, this left somewhat of a sour taste in my mouth, as I had sent pictures of the issues, and I question whether they would have accepted the return if they had not (seemingly) forgotten about it. Either way, NCIX's staff were great in coordinating all this, but I would encourage anyone in the market for a new screen to read the 0DP policy carefully - being "guaranteed a perfect LCD monitor, free of any dead pixels or screen defects" may depend on who's evaluating the returns.

Now as for the screen itself, I have several gripes:

-The USB hub does not work when the monitor is off. This is good for power-saving, but if for example you switch to a projector and shut the monitor off, you will lose any peripherals or storage plugged into those ports.

-The included VGA cable is very short. This is an issue because most people still do not have hardware with DisplayPort output, which means this monitor has only 2 usable inputs. Most people will have longer cables already, but very few will be able to handle this monitor's native resolution!

-The built-in video scaler does not function with any resolutions 720p or higher, so BluRay/Xbox360/PS3/upscaled DVD inputs WILL be stretched or cropped. HP does not see this as an issue, and will not do anything to rectify it. Note that this does not affect PC inputs, as most video cards can properly control scaling.

Despite all this, if you're looking for a 16:10 monitor that's not based on a TN panel, this may well suit your needs. I've had no issues with ghosting, and keep Video Overdrive turned off. I like the monitor a lot, but I also feel it could have been so much better. Links: Physical specs - HP.com, Pixel Warranty Policy - HP.com

SummaryThere's simply isn't much choice if you looking for 16:10 ratio today and even less if you wanted display port at all. So it wasn't much of a pick for me...

IPS panel... great viewing angle (but who use their 24" at those odd angle?) and color but definitely suffer major glare when displaying dark image. Think of non-anti glare screen with glare on it. but this time the glare come from the other side of the screen...

QC... This is where the bad comes in. First monitor I got have a dead pixel right near the center and a burr or something beside it. The blur is most likely contamination in the factory when making the glass. Second replace came 3 days later (no stock all the time) and it also seem to have a blur with one of the pixel on the lower left corner... going to return and get a third one. But I don't think it's going to matter.

Also related to QC is that the first and second monitor IPS glare is day and night in difference.

Summarythe color is fantastic, images looked 3Dhowever, for some reason, when there are white back ground,the reset part of the color images looked darker than usual.anyhow, ncix might have got a bad batch, as many have returned this monitor due to tinting problems?hope they will get some new batch soon!

SummaryThe consistent colour and brightness across viewing angles from the IPS panel are a huge improvement over my previous TN-based screens. The stand is nice and stable, and unclips easily for VESA mounting.

The large vertical 1200 pixels is very nice for web browsing, programming, reading documents, etc, compared to the old monitor with 1024 vertical.

The black levels are pretty poor and there's a subtle "screen door" effect noticeable on large areas of lighter colours which took getting used to.

Overall I'm very happy with the monitor and would definitely buy it again. Excellent bang for the buck.

ProsGreat picture quality. The white is actually white not eggshell. Color is vibrant and clean and clear.

ConsGenerates a bit of heat and about 2" thick.

SummaryPurchased this to fix my Eyefinity system. Bought the active adapter and still had blinking blackouts with my 3-SM2494HM Samsung. Plugged this monitor in and I'm happy with the color and range of adjustments. No regrets. A very good monitor. Now I need to sell the 3-Samsungs and adapter and buy 2 more ZR24w

SummaryI owned a Dell 2405FPW which I bought 4 years ago and paid around $700 for, which was during a Dell sale promotion. Great monitor. Except for one thing: It broke after only 4 years of normal use. And according to the local repair shop I took it to, it couldn't be repaired without replacing the whole screen which would cost around 500$ provided they could find the part. Dell itself offers 0 support for out of warranty monitors.

Needless to say I was pissed! But in any case I needed a replacement and was not interested in a TFT screen. I certainly did not want to give Dell any more of my hard earned money.

After exhaustive searching on the net I found some listings for this new HP ZR24W monitor. I couldn't find any official reviews for this product but did find a few personal impressions from recent owners on public forums. The most attractive incentive to take a chance with this product is the promo price. As of this writing, the lowest from a Canadian retailer is $377.99. That's even lower then what I found it for at the time of my purchase and NCIX price matched it. That's an awesome price for a 24" IPS monitor!

So far I am very satisfied with my acquisition. This monitor looks and feels exactly like the Dell Ultrasharp U2410 which is the updated version of the 2405fpw. In fact, I bet you that the guts are exactly the same only this monitor sells for almost half the price while the promo lasts. I just hope that it will last me longer than 4 years. And if it doesn't, well at least I didn't pay $700 for it. But it better last longer damn it, it better!

Very good screen. Colour accuracy excellent, good performance out of the box. Response time and input lag very good with no issues with viewing angle or uniformity. Only problem with monitor is its black depth and contrast ratio is a bit worse compared to Dell U2410.

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